Top 5 Tips for Sellers

In this post we will explore the most important considerations when you are in the market to sell your home and make the next big move. There are many aspects which you need to work on, here I am covering the top five items which should set you on right course for selling in less time and at good price:

Price It Right – This is by far the single most important factor when you decide to put your home on market, to arrive at fair market value you need to work along with your Realtor to agree on just the right price to list your home. The Realtor here would need to do a comparative market analysis for similar homes sold recently in your neighborhood, adjustments need to be made to the features which are additional/missing from the comparables. This exercise needs to be done as objectively as possible to come up with a fair listing price for the property and the current market we are pitching. The last thing you as a Seller would like to do is to be emotional and price it without justification, as soon as you do that the chances are that property will be used at best for comparisons with other similar available properties in the market and which are priced right. There is a lot of science and strategy behind the price of the property, take your best judgement along with the inputs from your Realtor and get this first step right. Appropriate pricing would reap immense benefits in form of multiple offers and eventually good price over asking.

The Two D’s – De-personalize & De-clutter – A prospective buyer who is coming for a showing of your home would like to visualize the home as his/her own, remove any portraits, photographs or memorabilia of your family or any religious artifacts etc from the home. Think of it like you are providing a blank slate to the prospect to visualize and imagine their presence in the home. Remove any extra furniture, articles, toys from your home including all small appliances and accessories from washrooms, kitchen etc. Your goal here should be when a prospect comes for showing they should be able to walk without any restrictions to access all parts of your home, there should be minimal furniture on just to show the utility of the room/area and that’s it. Have neat and clean kitchen counters, stow away any appliances, mixers, juicers in your cabinets, work on counters and avoid them looking busy. This will help in making the home look spacious and increase overall appeal, take the opportunity to donate any items which you don’t need or rent spaces to park them if you plan to take them along with the move. All this effort will be worth as the famous saying goes – ‘You never get a second chance for a first impression’.

Home that ‘Shows’ Well ‘Sells’ Well – No one would like to buy a home which is not maintained or kept well, as a Seller you need to keep this basic fundamental in mind. Start from the outside curb appeal to the interiors of your home, give your best effort to keep the house in a clean and pristine state, devoid of any odors. Keep those special meals which might have a strong smell for some other day when you are not doing an open house or there are no showings scheduled. On the contrary have the home smell fresh and tasteful. Ensure cleaning the home with every nook and corner standing out impeccably clean, hire a professional cleaner for a day if needed. Maximize entry of natural light into your home, remove drapes and curtains to make home bright and inviting for showing. Be available to accommodate any showing appointments.

High Quality Photos – Your ambassador to your home listing are the photographs and virtual tours, ensure with your realtor that these are done professionally and are of good quality, stats tell that for a home listed with good photos tends to have lot higher showing appointments. These are very important to generate the interest and bring the right buyer to you. As they always say – ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’.

‘Well Defined’ Spaces – This is often the most ignored aspect when Homes come on listing. Every room or section in your home should signify its purpose and convey a message around its utility. This can be easily done by positioning appropriate furniture in those areas and will go a long way in giving the buyer’s a sense that every bit of space in this home is usable and add to the value proposition to them.